Guam has the highest number of Compact of Free Association (COFA) migrants in 2018, according to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The bureau surveyed Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa to gather data for the “2018 Estimates of Compact of Free Association (COFA) Migrants.”
Under the provisions of the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003, the U.S. Department of the Interior inked an agreement with the census bureau to produce estimates of COFA migrants for 2018.
According to the DOI, the data results will be used as a basis for allocating Compact Impact funds for a range of socio-economic programs to offset the impact of migration to Guam and other jurisdictions.
About 93 percent of all COFA migrants in 2018 resided in Guam or Hawaii, according to the census bureau.
Guam had the highest number of COFA migrants with Hawaii having the next highest at 18,874 and 16,680, respectively.
In total, around 38,114 COFA migrants reside in the four jurisdictions during the survey period.
The COFA agreement allows citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau to enter, work, and live in the U.S. and its territories.
